Gifts for the Boating Angler
Stumped over that perfect gift for your favorite fisherman? Here are a few suggestions that are sure to please.
The good thing about having a boater or a fisherman in the family is the endless supply of gift ideas. The great thing about being a boater or fishermen is receiving them. But indulge in the hobbies for enough years and the choices become a little more difficult. If you’re stumped or just procrastinating, here’s a list of things to consider. I’d like to own them, if I don’t already, and so would you.
The Stanley Waterproof Spotlight ($60)
This little light of mine floats in the water, is submersible up to six feet, and can survive a fall onto a fiberglass cockpit from a ten foot height. It’s small in size so you can stow it in your ditch bag or in a stowage compartment without eating up too much space. With its rubberized pistol grip, it’s easy to direct the 520-lumen beam from the five-watt LED bulb. The battery lasts for 10 hours but if your boat has a 12V outlet on the dash you can recharge it onboard.
G.Loomis NRX Bass Rod ($450-475)
G.Loomis has brought the use of nano silica resins to its bass rod lineup, creating a rod that is stronger and lighter than traditional rods, yet still incredibly durable. For its NRX rods, Loomis uses high density carbons infused with 3M’s Matrix resin, which reduces weight and, 3M claims, increases compression strength by 25 percent. It is also more resistant to scuffing and corrosion. G.Loomis developed the NRX to achieve all those attributes while still being incredibly responsive.
Costa Del Mar Jose Sunglasses with 580 Lenses ($260)
Named after the “Spanish Fly” Jose Wejebe, these are the latest frame styles from the sunglass maker Costa Del Mar. I’m a huge fan of the 580 lenses, and consider them well worth the price. Costa calls them “580” because the lenses block yellow light, the hardest for the human eye to process, at 580 nanometers. (Visible light ranges from about 390 to 780 nm.) The result is they enhance the remaining light and give you that feeling that the whole world is coming at you in vivid detail. It’s like fishing in HD.
EGO S2 Sliding Net ($70)
A little pushing and pulling turns a net with a 29-inch handle into one with a 5-footer. Small, medium, and large net sizes can be interchanged on the different handle options, which range from an 18, 28, and 48-inch size compressed that extend out to 36, 60, and 108 inches respectively. These nets are easy to use and come with rubber mesh or PVC coated nylon. They’re great because they store out of the way but quickly extend to help you land any hooked fish in the vicinity.
Sebile Magic Swimmers ($17-$43)
These lures carry a hefty price tag, but with a reputation earned for lifelike performance in the water the Magic Swimmers are a serious light tackle lure. The jointed lures mimic the natural swimming patterns of a living baitfish, and different versions feature interior fluids and noise makers to attract fish. They’re proven fish producers for many different types of fishing in both fresh and salt water.
Gobandit GPSHD Action Cam ($350)
Why settle for point and shoot hero shots when you can make hero movies? The Gobandit camera records HD video in conjunction with GPS data such as elevation, location, route, speed and altitude. The camera records at 720p with 16:9 aspect ratio to create mpeg4 files. The camera is waterproof to IPx7 standards, ready to be mounted somewhere on your boat.
Pete McDonald writes for Boating, Yachting, and other marine and fishing publications. In the past, he has written for Power & Motoryacht and Salt Water Sportsman, and spent 11 years on staff as a technical editor at Boating. All things considered, at any given moment he would prefer to be fishing.
